By Francis Ntow, GNA
Accra, Nov 10, GNA) – Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, Finance Minister, has charged procurement officers to protect the public purse from waste in national spending by strictly enforcing compliance mechanisms.
He said that was necessary because public procurement accounted for about 50 to 70 per cent of national spending, therefore, the need for vigilance and strict adherence to processes, instead of seeing them as bureaucratic formality.
The Minister said this in a speech for him by Mr Samuel Arkhurst, Coordinating Director (Technical), Ministry of Finance, at the 12th Public Procurement Forum in Accra on Monday, on the theme: “Deepening compliance for public procurement efficiency, transparency and effectiveness.”
The Deputy Finance Minister, Mr Thomas Nyarko Ampem, at the 2025 Ghana Institute of Procurement and Supply (GIPS) report launch noted that Ghana lost approximately GHS2.36 billion every year due to procurement breaches.
In his speech, Dr Forson noted that in Ghana, public procurement accounted for about 50 and 70 per cent of national spending, cautioning procurement officers across the country against non-compliance, inefficiency and abuse.
“For those who remember, the 2026 national budget appropriation was exactly GHS357.21bn. Half of that of seventy per cent for procurement for the roads that we see, schools, health facilities communities rely on, services that we execute and for all development projects. That is significant,” he said.
On the part of the government, he mentioned a reviewed the procurement framework to bring full transparency to public procurement, “so that every Cedi of the country’s limited resources was used efficiently to achieve national improvement goals.”
He said the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663), amended by Act 1279, was passed to address weaknesses in previous laws, tighten controls and ensure value for money in transactions.
Dr Forson reiterated that the government alone could not achieve success in ensuring public procurement benefitted citizens without active cooperation, transparency, accountability and shared responsibility from all stakeholders involved across Ghana.
“We have all the tools for public procurement so that we achieve a sound public financial management system, but the tools only work when they are used. Therefore, the only way we can succeed is through working strict compliance,” he stated.
Mr Frank Mante, PPA Chief Executive Officer (CEO), warned that breaches of procurement law carried penalties, including jail under Section 92, particularly where procurement was conducted without Finance Minister commitment authorisation.
He encouraged heads of entities to ensure proper approvals before procurement was carried out, adding that whether a competitive method or another method was used, the overriding requirement was to secure value for money.
He said the public procurement forum, which brought together stakeholders from across the country, allowed the Authority to listen to concerns raised by practitioners and respond with reforms.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Odeng Adade
Reporter: Francis Ntow
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